The Help She Once Received Is Now At Risk
- 20 hours ago
- 2 min read
DC residents who have solved urgent legal problems thanks to public funding are on the frontlines of the current budget fight. They include Olga González, who on May 6th drew on her personal experience to urge members of the DC City Council to reverse a proposed 86% cut to the city’s Access to Justice Initiative budget.
“Without the help of a Legal Aid DC lawyer, I would have lost my mind,” she testified.
On the heels of a traumatic divorce after 30 years of marriage, González, then 65, broke her shoulder and needed surgery and physical therapy. Then the unexpected medical bills started pouring in.
Believing she was fully insured, González didn’t understand what was happening or what to do about her mounting debt. No one was able to help her—or explain that her insurer had expected her to apply for Medicare—until she contacted Legal Aid.
With an attorney willing to listen and help, everything changed. The hospital paused billing and González’s attorney helped her secure Medicare coverage retroactively. Legal Aid DC even helped her recoup money from her ex-husband, who she learned had broken their agreement to keep paying her insurance.
A System Under Threat
González’s story is one of tens of thousands. Last year alone, DC Bar Foundation’s 30 grantee partners leveraged Access to Justice funding to serve more than 44,000 DC residents, including veterans, children, people with disabilities, and survivors of domestic violence. The mayor's proposed FY27 budget would cut that investment from over $31 million to less than $4.5 million.
"That is not a trim," testified Aracelis Gray, Director of Programs at the DC Bar Foundation, which has administered Access to Justice Initiative since the Council created it in 2007.
"That is the near-total dismantling of a system DC residents depend on."
A Cut is Not a Cost-Saving
Gray and others also testified that civil legal services reduce costs across other public services. Legal support prevents evictions that lead to people seek emergency shelter and other social services. Legal services ensure people receive the federal benefits they are entitled to and get the medical care that prevents future emergency room visits and loss of income. Research shows that every $1 invested in civil legal services generates an average return of $7.
As Gray testified, “Civil legal aid is the connective tissue that keeps residents from falling into far more expensive systems.”
What Happens to Residents Like Olga González?
For Olga González, the question is personal. She knows what it feels like to be turned away, and what it means to finally find someone who will fight for you. Now a member of Legal Aid’s Community Advisory Council, González asked DC Councilmembers to restore cuts that would deny tens of thousands of other DC residents the legal services they need:
"Without this help,” she testified, “many people will suffer as a result of their legal problems.”
How You Can Help
To get involved, urge the City Council to restore funding, explore advocacy resources complied by the DC Access to Justice Commission, and follow the DC Bar Foundation on LinkedIn and Instagram to amplify testimonials from advocates like Olga González.
